What Is a Recovery Run and Its Advantages

What is a recovery run? It is a leisurely paced, and short distanced race, which is usually performed within 24 hours after completing hard training or running sessions with a severe fatiguing and exhaustive effect. The more we train, the more we improve our performance and running capacity. However, neglecting rest and overtraining can cause injury, fatigue, as well as illness. As such, active rest or recovery run is significant for quick muscle recovery after running.

Why Do You Need a Recovery Run?

You don’t require full effort training all the time. This fact can prove hard to comprehend especially on new runners having the notion: the harder the training, the more the perfection on performance. Such an assumption can lead to a destructive cycle. You will be pushing yourself in every run to force an optimum body performance and to get the maximum perception from every running session. The most appropriate time to perform the activity is after a hard training: When you are still in a lingering fatigue state.

The Benefits of a Recovery Run

The primary benefit of hard training comes through recovery and rest. The recovery run is the perfect method of resting other than total rest. This activity can increase your whole training period which enhances the body blood circulation as well as increases the body capacity of processing waste products. Also, the recovery run boosts the body aerobic capacity which improves the running ability.

A recovery run helps by flushing out lactic acid accumulation in the muscle and preventing muscle soreness onset. It also enhances quick muscle recovery after running. Similarly, the slow and easy-paced running makes the muscle to stiffen, and the runner feels much better.

The run enhances your power output and it improves your endurance. A recovery run also help to increase your running mirage without causing unnecessary fatigue and inflicting unnecessary extra stress on the body. Ultimately, a recovery run increases fatigue resistant in upcoming athletes.

Other than the above physiological benefits, recovery run enables the runner to work on other objectives such as process and beyond performance goals. This activity allows the athlete to concentrate on skills and technical components for excellent running like backward elbow drive, running tall, as well as gaining slight forward learn. Other benefits from the activity include natural running without using a running watch while maintaining good speed. Consequently, you enjoy the chance to practice mindfulness, which is an excellent distraction from the stressful demands of modern day life.

Recovery Run Pace

The recovery run pace involves running leisurely, but it has to be relative to the level of the athlete’s speed and fitness. Generally, the recovery run pace ranges between 65 to 75 percent of one’s maximum heart rate, or roughly 60 to 90 second slower than your regular training pace. For the elite runners, the recovery run pace has to be slightly slower than the marathon pace.

Therefore, you are not supposed to finish a recovery run thoroughly exhausted; you need to feel much better at the end of the race than you did when starting. The ideal pace makes it possible for you to talk without puffing and much huffing while running. Moreover, you can converse without gasping for air.

Generally, recovery run pace lasts between three to five miles or can last 25 to 40 minutes. However, this depends on the fitness level as well as the athlete training objective.

How to Do Rest Running

The fundamental principle of recovery run is to interchange a hard training session with a relaxed session. If you engage in a hard practice over the weekend involving a robust track performance, the body requires a time rest from the activity for it to adapt to the training. This rest time is ideal for the recovery run. It makes the running more enjoyable.

However, you shouldn’t overdo the recovery run. This is because you require a more intensive run to build your endurance, strength, and speed. Ideally, one recovery run per week is sufficient. More research has shown that when you perform your training when muscles are lingering and energy deficient from hard training, the brain can change the muscle patterns in movement. This brain activity helps to avoid engaging worn out muscle fibers and engage the less affected ones. In a situation where the brain is forced to change the regular muscle patterns, it uses a neuromuscular transmission that helps you to run in a more effective manner, and the body uses less energy at any given speed.  

Recovery Running Tips

•    A recovery run is necessary if you have to run again within 24 hours after engaging in a heavy running or a heavy training workout
•     You may do muscle recovery after running if you run at least four times or more in a week. If you run thrice in a week, every race should be a key workout and has to be followed by a day off.
•    If you perform four times per week, the three runs are supposed to be key workouts, and the fourth, one a recovery run. This is to be effected on the day after the key activity other than on the day after the rest day. If your schedule is five times in a week, one run needs to be a recovery run, and when you run six or more times in a week, two-run have to be recovery runs.

In Conclusion

Recovery runs are not necessary for base training since, at this stage, most of the activities have moderate duration and intensity. However, they should commence after you start engaging in high energy and exhaustive workouts. I hope now you understand what is a recovery run.